METRO NEWS BRIEFS: NEW JERSEY

Published: May 23, 1998

EAST BRUNSWICK—
More than 75 black police officers from New Jersey and New York plan to patrol the New Jersey Turnpike over the Memorial Day weekend to watch for signs that the state police are stopping motorists based on their race.

The patrols along the 168-mile roadway are meant to insure that traffic laws are enforced equally among all races, said DeLacy D. Davis, an East Orange police officer and president of Black Cops Against Police Brutality.

The patrols were organized in response to an April 23 incident in which a Hispanic man and two black men from New York City were shot by state troopers after being stopped on the turnpike for speeding, Officer Davis said. Officer Davis's group, the New Jersey Association of Black Police Organizations and two New York groups -- 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement and the Grand Guardians Council -- will participate.

State police officials deny that they use race as a factor in stopping motorists, a practice commonly called racial profiling. Trooper Al Della Fave, a state police spokesman, said he welcomed the monitoring and added that the state police would not increase their own patrols this weekend beyond those normally scheduled for the holiday.